Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is the most fun movie to hit theaters in 2023. I know. It probably feels as weird to read that sentence as I felt typing it.
But fact remains that the new film based on the elaborate fantasy table-top role-playing game is really, really good. The duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein — who were also responsible for projects like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Horrible Bosses and the vastly underrated Game Night — managed to weave a story that’s full of heart and excitement and adventure, even if you have no idea what they’re talking about half of the time.
As a non Dungeons and Dragons game player, I wasn’t familiar with the intricacies of classes or names of locations or the references to mythical beasts. And yet, it honestly did not matter. Not in a way that means Goldstein and Daley — the latter of which is probably best known for his turns on Freaks and Geeks and Bones — failed at translating game to screen.
On the contrary, they flawlessly drop you into a world full of magic and creatures. At a certain point you realize that while you may not know exactly what an Arcane Seal is or how a Displacer Beast could hurt you or what the Underdark really is, you understand what they’re going for and just roll with it.
“It’s very difficult. I don’t know anyone that could have done it except us,” Goldstein told For The Win with a hearty laugh.
Daley, joining in on the laughter and fake bravado, chimed in saying, “We are the best,” before settling in for his actual answer.
“That is the inherent challenge in making a film like this with such a long-standing IP. For us, the thing that we focused on was making a movie, first and foremost, that we were proud of. One that checks all the boxes of heart, humor and spectacle. Beyond that, being able to appeal to fans of the game in a way that doesn’t alienate the general audiences,” Daley elaborated.
Mission accomplished. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves boasts a 90 percent rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes (and a 94 percent from audiences). Part of this success can be directly attributed to a phenomenal cast. The unbelievably charismatic Chris Pine plays Edgin, a once honorable Harper before his wife is murdered and his life turns upside down.
He joins up with Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), Simon (Justice Smith) and Forge (Hugh Grant) for “grand larceny and skull duggery” until a plot to obtain a magical tablet that would bring Edgin’s wife back from the dead goes awry.
From there, jail time — IN A DUNGEON! — is served for Ed and Holga, but eventually they regroup with Simon, add in Doric (Sophia Lillis) and Xenk (Regé-Jean Page) as they work together to get Ed’s daughter back from Forge and his creepy advisor, Sofina (Daisy Head).
It’s wildly fun, and I cannot recommend enough. Now I need Goldstein and Daley to tackle other table-top games. How about an Oregon Trail movie?
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves hits theaters nationwide on Friday, March 31.
